Liel Abada expressed discomfort at playing amid Celtic supporters’ pro-Palestinian displays. Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images and Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

By Louis Keene March 7, 2024

Liel Abada, an Israeli footballer who has been sitting out games for his Scottish club amid fan protests of the war in Gaza, is joining Major League Soccer’s team in Charlotte.

The team said on its website Thursday that it had paid $8 million to acquire Abada’s contract from Glasgow’s Celtic FC. He will be Major League Soccer’s second active Israeli player, joining Tai Baribo of Philadelphia Union. 

Abada, 22, tallied 20 goals and 22 assists over his two seasons with Celtic; the team won its Scottish League this year and last. Abada, who is from Petach Tikva, a city east of Tel Aviv, had signed a four-year contract last summer.

But the team’s home stadium became inhospitable this fall.

Celtic fans have long been vocal supporters of Palestinian rights, which they associate with their own historic struggles against dispossession, famine and racism. Since Oct. 7, that has become the central aesthetic in the home stands, where thousands wave Palestinian flags and — in the first game following the Hamas attacks — unfurled giant banners that read “Free Palestine” and “Victory To The Resistance.” 

Abada has voiced his displeasure over the displays to the team’s leadership. The club distanced itself from the slogans, but Brendan Rodgers, Celtic’s manager, recently acknowledged that it would be hard for the Israeli to perform in such an environment, and implied a change of scenery might be inevitable.

“​​This is a young guy, 22 years of age, far, far away from home,” Rodgers said last month before a Celtic match. “People can talk about what’s going on there and then they can forget about it. This is the reality for him, this is his life. Every single day, every night, families in a war. So it’s a really, really tough situation for him. On a human level, I have real, real empathy for him.”

Abada sat out the team’s past five games, without saying why beyond “personal reasons.” 

“Leaving Celtic wasn’t in my plans, yet life’s unpredictable turns remind us that we’re not always in control,” Abada wrote Thursday on Instagram. “The past six months have been a personal challenge, yet the overwhelming support from the gaffer (manager), coaches, and board has been my rock. Their unwavering faith during these times won’t be forgotten, but cherished forever.”

Abada, a 5-foot-6 forward, will make $200,000 a year in Charlotte, which is 1-0-1 this season. He is expected to eventually join the starting lineup. 

“Liel has been one of the most exciting young wingers in Europe and we’re delighted to welcome him to Charlotte,” Zoran Krneta, the team’s general manager, said in a news release. “He’s an elite goal scorer and chance creator who is a proven winner who is determined to bring trophies home to the club and our supporters.”

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